When the world was young in the Dreamtime, Wanja the Echidna did not have spikes like he has today. Instead, he had beautiful long black feathers, that were tipped in white. Wanja was proud of his feathers, but he was very lazy and greedy. Whenever any of the other animals held a feast, Wanja would be the first to the food, the last to leave and he would always eat the most.
Now one day Emu became very ill and all the other animals gathered around Emu to help him. Book-Book, the wise old owl knew of a special medicine that would help Emu get better. Book-Book sent the animals out into the bush to gather all the ingredients they needed to make the medicine. When they came back to camp, Book-Book the wise old owl used the ingredients and began to mix the medicine for Emu.
Book-Book was almost finished, when he looked up and said sternly to all the animals: "This medicine is very special. It is only to be used by sick creatures, not anyone else!" Then Book-Book finished mixing the medicine and gave it to Emu.
As soon as Emu swallowed the medicine, he felt better and all the animals cheered and decided to hold a celebration. They all hurried into the bush to find the food they needed: everyone except Wanja the Echidna. He was very lazy and thought it would be easier if he just stayed around the camp and waited for the other animals return with all the food.
After a while, Wanja became hungry, and being very greedy, he went looking for something to eat. There was nothing in the camp for him to have, except for some left over medicine. Wanja the Echidna drank greedily, ignoring Book-Book the Owl's warning.
As soon as he swallowed the medicine, Wanja the Echidna felt as though he was on fire. He screamed loudly, and all the other animals came running back to see what was wrong. When they got back to the camp, they saw that Wanja the Echidna looked very different. The medicine had burnt through Wanja's beautiful white-tipped back feathers and all that was left was the hard, spikey centres.
"Oh Wanja!" said Book-Book, the wise old Owl. "See what your greed has done! Now you must live with those spikes forever, so that everyone is reminded that being greedy is very bad, and that you should not take medicine unless you are ill!"
So that is the story of how Wanja the Echidna came to have hard, black spikes that are tipped in white.
Once you have read the story, you can use this document to complete a reading comprehension task. When you finish this task, please e-mail your answers to your Australian Partner Student, who will correct this for you!
How The Echidna Got His Spikes
When the world was young in the Dreamtime, Wanja the Echidna did not have spikes like he has today. Instead, he had beautiful long black feathers, that were tipped in white. Wanja was proud of his feathers, but he was very lazy and greedy. Whenever any of the other animals held a feast, Wanja would be the first to the food, the last to leave and he would always eat the most.
Now one day Emu became very ill and all the other animals gathered around Emu to help him. Book-Book, the wise old owl knew of a special medicine that would help Emu get better. Book-Book sent the animals out into the bush to gather all the ingredients they needed to make the medicine. When they came back to camp, Book-Book the wise old owl used the ingredients and began to mix the medicine for Emu.
Book-Book was almost finished, when he looked up and said sternly to all the animals: "This medicine is very special. It is only to be used by sick creatures, not anyone else!" Then Book-Book finished mixing the medicine and gave it to Emu.
As soon as Emu swallowed the medicine, he felt better and all the animals cheered and decided to hold a celebration. They all hurried into the bush to find the food they needed: everyone except Wanja the Echidna. He was very lazy and thought it would be easier if he just stayed around the camp and waited for the other animals return with all the food.
After a while, Wanja became hungry, and being very greedy, he went looking for something to eat. There was nothing in the camp for him to have, except for some left over medicine. Wanja the Echidna drank greedily, ignoring Book-Book the Owl's warning.
As soon as he swallowed the medicine, Wanja the Echidna felt as though he was on fire. He screamed loudly, and all the other animals came running back to see what was wrong. When they got back to the camp, they saw that Wanja the Echidna looked very different. The medicine had burnt through Wanja's beautiful white-tipped back feathers and all that was left was the hard, spikey centres.
"Oh Wanja!" said Book-Book, the wise old Owl. "See what your greed has done! Now you must live with those spikes forever, so that everyone is reminded that being greedy is very bad, and that you should not take medicine unless you are ill!"
So that is the story of how Wanja the Echidna came to have hard, black spikes that are tipped in white.
Once you have read the story, you can use this document to complete a reading comprehension task. When you finish this task, please e-mail your answers to your Australian Partner Student, who will correct this for you!